said on the subject, I wrote a letter
to Cooke, to be laid before the Duke, in which I gave an account
of the circumstances under which I had been concerned in the
business, stating that I had not expressed any opinion of the
conduct of the parties, and that I did not wish to be in any way
mixed up in it. After I had seen Cooke I went to the Chancellor
and read my letter to him. I found he had not shown the King the
two last letters that had passed; and as Cooke had told me that
the Duke meant to go to Windsor the next day and lay the whole
correspondence before the King, the Chancellor immediately sent
off a messenger with the two letters which the King had not seen.
The Chancellor has since circulated the correspondence among his
friends, but with rather too undignified a desire to submit his
conduct to the judgment of a parcel of people who only laugh at
them both, and are amused with the gossip and malice of the
thing.

August 25th, 1829 {p.227}

I came to town from Stoke yesterday morning, and found a
palavering letter from Cooke, returning mine, saying that the
Duke was quite satisfied, and saw that it would be useless to
have an interview with me; that he had persuaded his Royal
Highness to drop the whole affair; and ended with many protestations
of respect for the Chancellor and the purity of his own motives
in meddling with the matter. I sent his letter to the Chancellor,
together with my own, that he might show them both to the Duke
of Wellington.

Melbourne, who is a pretty good judge of Irish affairs, thinks
that Government will probably be under the necessity of adopting
strong coercive measures there; but whether they are adopted, or
a temporary policy of expedients persisted in, nobody is there
fit to advise what is requisite. The Duke of Northumberland is an
absolute nullity, a bore beyond all bores, and, in spite of his
desire to spend money and be affable, very unpopular. The Duchess
complains of it and can't imagine why, for they do all they can
to be liked, but all in vain.

August 28th, 1829 {p.228}

At Stoke since Tuesday for the Egham races; Esterhazy, Alvanley,
Montrond, Mornay, B. Craven, &c. The King came to the races one
day (the day I was not there) in excellent health. The weather
exceeds everything that ever was known--a constant succession of
gales of wind and tempests of rain, and the sun never shining.
The oats are not cut, and a second crop is growing up, that has
been shak